The Review continues! Don Sullivan's Part II
But wait, there's more! There's actually about 5 hours of this.
Essential Equipment
Three things you should have:
The Command Collar
More on this later
Freedom training lines
10 foot
3 foot
6 inche
His own special brand of leashes
Leather gloves
Close fitting. Keeps your hands clean, and prevents rope burn when your dog takes off, and when they nip it will protect you. "You must understand that when your dog bites you that you are not making your dog aggressive through firm corrections." Leashes can cause discomfort to our hands when you are making firm corrections, "If your hands are uncomfortable, you may be hesitant or even unable to make a firm enough correction to gain the respect form your dog that you are looking for."
I find it interesting that it's "when" they nip and bite, not "if." Also, how hard are we correcting that it's so hard you're physically hurting yourself with the leash?
Specialized Equipment
Choke chains are only used in the DVD where they were filmed before he invented his own collar. If not used properly, a choke chain is not as safe as his own collar, nor do they get as quick of results.
Well, we agree that choke chains are not safe...
Prongs are necessary in extreme cases. Similar to his prong collar, but the links are metal and have a "stronger bite". It's for "extreme dogs." Don't fear that it looks rough, it just helps you get to the point you want to be at. More on prong collars later
I like how no one can agree on Prong collars. At the same time, you're told to not use them on aggressive dogs, that they're only for "extreme dogs" and that they give you more "precision" but they don't hurt. I can only reason that they function of stardust and the wishes of faeries.
Electronic collars. Great for solving distance problems or when the dog is only bad when you're gone. Good if used properly after you've laid the groundwork.
Wonderful use of being vague and saying a lot without saying anything. Bravo, Mr Sullivan.
Muzzles. he uses them a lot when he starts new dogs. Should have room to pant. Says mesh helps with the amount of sweat they have to feel, and keep them cooler. Muzzles are good for scatterbrained or stubborn dogs, because it changes their attitude. Dogs are more confidant when they have the use of their mouth, they relax when you take that away from them.
Um... Dogs don't sweat on their heads. They can only sweat in between the pads of their feet. The bit about muzzles calming dogs down is both right and wrong. They do calm the dog down, but not for the reasons he says they do -- halters get the exact same reaction and they don't hamper the teeth in any way.
Command Collar
For this one, I have pictures
It's revolutionary, his own design!
It's a good looking collar
Because that's always the most important part of training
Lightweight, so it's comfortable to wear.
Alright, here's the picture on his website:
You can hardly see it in the picture So here's the pictures I took of it:
This is it sitting on my kitchen table, unclipped
Here it is sized correctly on my leg
A little tug
And here's the marks it left
The marks were still there over half an hour later, and I wasn't doing a "harsh correction" on my self, it was just a little tug.
Easy to put on and off with it's clip.
Gets results quickly by emulating the natural correction process of a mother dog.
This one again? Mother dogs don't "bite" down on a puppies neck to correct them. Nor do mother dogs teeth ever wrap all the way around a neck and touch the trachea. It's a fallacious argument.
Size it by laying it around your dogs neck and hooking the snap so that it's tight around the dog, with a little bit of slack between the two lines attached to the clip. Remove links until it's quite snug. Should have about a 1/4 inch of slack, so it can get a good "snap."
Because they'll never know that training is about to begin when they're partially strangled.
Electronic Collar
Big bold warning, "The use of electronic collars may be restricted or prohibited in your area"
One would think that this may serve as a warning.
Many warnings that these are temporary tools for after you have finished with basic training with your dog, and that you shouldn't use them without first "creating a working relationship" with your dogs.
Maybe this should serve as the warning?
They are used for correcting distance behaviors.
Ironically, my biggest problem with them (other than the physical shock involved) is that they don't have a good distance reliability. Once the dog figures out that they just have to run out of the radio's range, it turns into a race. I train my dogs with volunteers, so they think that every person on the planet is here to reinforce what I tell him to do, and that doesn't have a range.
Vibration function is good for times your dog can't hear you as a "come" command.
I'm rather concerned that his example of this takes place with water, and only has a half mile range.
High resale rate is a bonus apparently.
Prong Collar
Big Warning: the use of prong collars may be restricted or prohibited in your area.
It's not sharp.
Unlike his control collar? My leg is still tingling were I pulled on it.
Always take it apart somewhere in the middle, so it doesn't get tangled up.
These things are the master of tangling up. All those prongs and holes for them to fit though. It's like fishing lines tangling up with the hooks still attached.
Two places to hook it to. Place it on the swiveling one. Size it tight, nearly fully tight so it "pops" when you jerk on it.
Because we don't need air...
Don't get the extra large one, they're too bulky and don't operate well.
Neither do the littler ones, in my experience. I have found dogs that became more unmanageable and aggressive with them however.
Useless Equipment
Oh, I bet all the stuff I use is going to be here!
With a command collar, most dogs stop pulling FOREVER in just two to five minutes.
I've seen dogs trained in his collar, with his methods. They're not.
Flat collars
"Flat collar = no consequence; no consequence = NO CONTROL"
It's detrimental to their throat by pulling
That's the same for all collars if the dog pulls. Even if pulling is actively painful, most dogs will continue to pull if pulling gets them to where they want to go. He's being misleading, either deliberately or not.
Gentle Leaders
The picture is a Halti
Because there's no consequence, the dog keeps pulling.
Again with the idea that people use this equipment and then don't train. No matter what you use, you still have to train the dog. Gentle leaders and the like simply limit how hard the dog can pull, so they can't overpower a weaker handler.
Harnesses
The dog on screen is in a weight pulling harness. One specially designed for dogs to compete in weight pulling. Same basic statements about how the dogs can still pull. No mention on how these remove all pressure from the neck (very important for dogs who have already had tracheal issues) or the fact that there are harnesses that are designed to keep a dog from pulling. He either does not know about them, or deliberately ignored them because they're a huge portion of the market.
Martingale
No consequences. Pinch collar without the teeth.
Again with the insistence that pinch collars somehow magically work better because of the spines, but that they somehow don't hurt and work on the same principles....
Retractable Leads
Well, at least there's one thing in here we agree with.
Retractable Leads
Are special enough to get their own section.
Retractable leads always pull.
Yey, we agree on something!
Somehow his leads can't be dropped like the expendables can.
I do wish he'd gone into the roughly 1,000 amputations a year due to retractable leads...
Essential Equipment
Three things you should have:
The Command Collar
Freedom training lines
10 foot
3 foot
6 inche
His own special brand of leashes
Leather gloves
Close fitting. Keeps your hands clean, and prevents rope burn when your dog takes off, and when they nip it will protect you. "You must understand that when your dog bites you that you are not making your dog aggressive through firm corrections." Leashes can cause discomfort to our hands when you are making firm corrections, "If your hands are uncomfortable, you may be hesitant or even unable to make a firm enough correction to gain the respect form your dog that you are looking for."
I find it interesting that it's "when" they nip and bite, not "if." Also, how hard are we correcting that it's so hard you're physically hurting yourself with the leash?
Specialized Equipment
Choke chains are only used in the DVD where they were filmed before he invented his own collar. If not used properly, a choke chain is not as safe as his own collar, nor do they get as quick of results.
Well, we agree that choke chains are not safe...
Prongs are necessary in extreme cases. Similar to his prong collar, but the links are metal and have a "stronger bite". It's for "extreme dogs." Don't fear that it looks rough, it just helps you get to the point you want to be at. More on prong collars later
I like how no one can agree on Prong collars. At the same time, you're told to not use them on aggressive dogs, that they're only for "extreme dogs" and that they give you more "precision" but they don't hurt. I can only reason that they function of stardust and the wishes of faeries.
Electronic collars. Great for solving distance problems or when the dog is only bad when you're gone. Good if used properly after you've laid the groundwork.
Wonderful use of being vague and saying a lot without saying anything. Bravo, Mr Sullivan.
Muzzles. he uses them a lot when he starts new dogs. Should have room to pant. Says mesh helps with the amount of sweat they have to feel, and keep them cooler. Muzzles are good for scatterbrained or stubborn dogs, because it changes their attitude. Dogs are more confidant when they have the use of their mouth, they relax when you take that away from them.
Um... Dogs don't sweat on their heads. They can only sweat in between the pads of their feet. The bit about muzzles calming dogs down is both right and wrong. They do calm the dog down, but not for the reasons he says they do -- halters get the exact same reaction and they don't hamper the teeth in any way.
Command Collar
For this one, I have pictures
It's revolutionary, his own design!
It's a good looking collar
Because that's always the most important part of training
Lightweight, so it's comfortable to wear.
Alright, here's the picture on his website:
You can hardly see it in the picture So here's the pictures I took of it:
This is it sitting on my kitchen table, unclipped
Here it is sized correctly on my leg
A little tug
And here's the marks it left
The marks were still there over half an hour later, and I wasn't doing a "harsh correction" on my self, it was just a little tug.
Easy to put on and off with it's clip.
Gets results quickly by emulating the natural correction process of a mother dog.
This one again? Mother dogs don't "bite" down on a puppies neck to correct them. Nor do mother dogs teeth ever wrap all the way around a neck and touch the trachea. It's a fallacious argument.
Size it by laying it around your dogs neck and hooking the snap so that it's tight around the dog, with a little bit of slack between the two lines attached to the clip. Remove links until it's quite snug. Should have about a 1/4 inch of slack, so it can get a good "snap."
Because they'll never know that training is about to begin when they're partially strangled.
Electronic Collar
Big bold warning, "The use of electronic collars may be restricted or prohibited in your area"
One would think that this may serve as a warning.
Many warnings that these are temporary tools for after you have finished with basic training with your dog, and that you shouldn't use them without first "creating a working relationship" with your dogs.
Maybe this should serve as the warning?
They are used for correcting distance behaviors.
Ironically, my biggest problem with them (other than the physical shock involved) is that they don't have a good distance reliability. Once the dog figures out that they just have to run out of the radio's range, it turns into a race. I train my dogs with volunteers, so they think that every person on the planet is here to reinforce what I tell him to do, and that doesn't have a range.
Vibration function is good for times your dog can't hear you as a "come" command.
I'm rather concerned that his example of this takes place with water, and only has a half mile range.
High resale rate is a bonus apparently.
Prong Collar
Big Warning: the use of prong collars may be restricted or prohibited in your area.
It's not sharp.
Unlike his control collar? My leg is still tingling were I pulled on it.
Always take it apart somewhere in the middle, so it doesn't get tangled up.
These things are the master of tangling up. All those prongs and holes for them to fit though. It's like fishing lines tangling up with the hooks still attached.
Two places to hook it to. Place it on the swiveling one. Size it tight, nearly fully tight so it "pops" when you jerk on it.
Because we don't need air...
Don't get the extra large one, they're too bulky and don't operate well.
Neither do the littler ones, in my experience. I have found dogs that became more unmanageable and aggressive with them however.
Useless Equipment
Oh, I bet all the stuff I use is going to be here!
With a command collar, most dogs stop pulling FOREVER in just two to five minutes.
I've seen dogs trained in his collar, with his methods. They're not.
Flat collars
"Flat collar = no consequence; no consequence = NO CONTROL"
It's detrimental to their throat by pulling
That's the same for all collars if the dog pulls. Even if pulling is actively painful, most dogs will continue to pull if pulling gets them to where they want to go. He's being misleading, either deliberately or not.
Gentle Leaders
The picture is a Halti
Because there's no consequence, the dog keeps pulling.
Again with the idea that people use this equipment and then don't train. No matter what you use, you still have to train the dog. Gentle leaders and the like simply limit how hard the dog can pull, so they can't overpower a weaker handler.
Harnesses
The dog on screen is in a weight pulling harness. One specially designed for dogs to compete in weight pulling. Same basic statements about how the dogs can still pull. No mention on how these remove all pressure from the neck (very important for dogs who have already had tracheal issues) or the fact that there are harnesses that are designed to keep a dog from pulling. He either does not know about them, or deliberately ignored them because they're a huge portion of the market.
Martingale
No consequences. Pinch collar without the teeth.
Again with the insistence that pinch collars somehow magically work better because of the spines, but that they somehow don't hurt and work on the same principles....
Retractable Leads
Well, at least there's one thing in here we agree with.
Retractable Leads
Are special enough to get their own section.
Retractable leads always pull.
Yey, we agree on something!
Somehow his leads can't be dropped like the expendables can.
I do wish he'd gone into the roughly 1,000 amputations a year due to retractable leads...